The tribe swap has become an expected twist early in the game of Survivor, but even though you can see it coming, it inevitably always works out for some and doesn’t work out for others. Some players see their games saved and some ruined, but rarely does the first tribe swap twist result in such a crazy Tribal Council like it did during Episode 4.

Caution, as spoilers from this week’s episode are to follow! Turn back now! If you want to get caught up, be sure to check out the Episode 4 Recap here.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

This week’s victim – the game’s fourth person voted out – was former NFL player Alan Ball. Placed on the Heroes Tribe, this Detroit (woohoo!) native came out swinging, wanting to play the game hard and fast. It may have been a bit too fast for his own good, as his paranoia surrounding the budding relationship between JP and Ashley put a big target on his back right from the start…but he was pretty much going to be kept around in the short-term, being that he’s a physical beast at challenges and all.

Alan survived the game’s very first Tribal Council but many labeled him a loose cannon. As the “Survivor Gods” would have it, the tribe swap ended up not being very kind to Alan, who was placed on a new tribe where his nemesis Ashley was the only other Hero. Forced to work together, it seemed like they had pulled in Devon as the crucial swing-vote and that Alan would live another three days in the game. But secret advantages and hidden Idols cost him dearly. It didn’t quite matter that Devon’s vote was blocked by Jessica‘s secret advantage, because once Joe played his Idol – correctly on himself instead of for Desi – Alan’s fate was sealed. Despite being a huge help at challenges moving forward, strategic-minded Joe wanted Alan gone, and so he was. It seemed ultimately that Alan played right into Joe’s hands, getting so mad at Joe back at camp that Alan just needed Joe to go…of course, this was all part of Joe’s plan.

I had the chance to speak to Alan today on the FilmSurvivor Podcast (the full audio of which you can find and download at the bottom of this article). But here were some highlights:

ALAN BALL INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:

About his early game paranoia towards Ashley and JP and how it may have affected his game:

Alan Ball: My thoughts and opinions haven’t changed. Being around them, my thoughts and opinions were valid. I think it’s slowly starting to show to the others that, hey, Alan had something, Alan was on to something. I definitely feel like had I not stepped in when I did, it may have gotten stronger. As time goes, as the show continues to roll, I think people are like, maybe he did see something, maybe he wasn’t crazy, maybe he was playing the game. It’s a matter of perspective…I definitely tried my best to put a wrench in it.

On Tribal Council from his perspective and whether he thinks Ashley’s facial expressions tipped off Joe:

Alan: If everything would have went as planned, you’d be talking to Joe right now instead of me. We know everything doesn’t go as planned. Joe had gotten on everybody’s nerves to the point where, if he didn’t have the Idol, I think Desi would have even voted him out. Yeah other options came into play and we thought about other things, but the burden of having Joe around was just more weight than actually thinking about him having the Idol. I think everyone was just trying to relieve the fact of having him around…for him to say he read Ashley’s face, I just can’t give him that much credit. I give him credit that he found the Idol, but that’s about the best I’ve seen about his game is that he found an Idol.

For much more from Alan Ball, including my full interview, please listen to the latest episode of the FilmSurvivor Podcast below or by clicking here.

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